Akai Yuuki
by Heeto
Summary: (AU) A deadly virus has swept through the human world, destroying thousands in it's path - friends mercilessly seperated. Hiei searched through the desolate town, praying Kurama was still alive. "Where are you fox..."


_Samurai Jones - Hello and welcome to my first YYH fic. But I can hardly take all the credit. Myself and Tsunake were role-playing and decided this antic would make a good story. She was playing Kurama - I was Hiei. Bwahahaha! runs in circles  
  
This is sort of like Resident Evil, so don't own that. Neither do we own Yu Yu Hakusho unfortunately.  
_  
**Title: Akai Yuuki (Red Courage)  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Genre: Drama/Angst  
**  
- - - - - - - -  
  
_Prologue_

_---------------------------_

A lone wind howled across the deserted town, sounding exactly like one of the blood thirsty monsters that now lurked within every shadow. The sun was just beginning to set, the cool night embracing the town like a dark blanket. A dangerous time nowadays, seeing as there were few friendly creatures at night. Check that. There were no friendly creatures at night. Zombies now roamed the town, mindless hungry creatures, the result of a horrible virus. They would occasionally call out for no reason, hungry moans and wails of the undead. Other horrors besides the zombies occupied the town as well. New, horrific, mutants that seemingly came straight out of hell itself. Stars began to glitter one by one in the dark night sky, shimmering without a care. A young red haired man stood silently by himself at the top of one of the buildings.   
  
His long, red hair fluttered slightly in a cool breeze, disturbing its peaceful rest upon his shoulders. It immediately cascaded down his back as soon as the breeze decided it had had enough fun for the moment. Every lock, every curl, it seemed to be in perfect tune with his character. The soft, silky structure hung loosely down his back. Two, thick strands however floated near his face, barely skimming the bottom half of his shoulders. A few wayward strands made up his bangs, almost covering his thin, red eyebrows. Odd perhaps, for long hair usually does not look natural on men. It did for this man however. His face was quite attractive, yet oddly feminine. The high cheekbones represented a sense of pride.   
  
A few loud thuds vibrated heavily on the door behind him. He slowly turned to look, his soulful green eyes filled with sadness and anger. Hungry moans reached his ears from the shattered windows, though the man knew that he would be safe. His entire family had been taken by the creatures, ripped apart and eaten. This man had been alone for some time, searching for his friends, unsure if they had survived or not. He knew he should leave before he too, was infected. Yet, something would not allow him to leave. A feeling that his friends were indeed alive. With a soft sigh, he turned back towards the night sky, staring up at it, oblivious to the rest of the world.   
  
The hope that he had obtained about anyone being alive was slowly weakening. If it weakened and died, all his remaining sanity would be lost. After all .it was his fault that his family was now dead. He slumped backwards, leaning against the rooftop entrance. Suddenly, a cold, dead hand wrapped around the back of his neck. With a sharp intake of breath, Kurama struggled as another one snatched a handful of his hair. Spinning around, he involuntarily gagged as flyblown breath hit him full in the face. The zombie moaned hungrily, lifting Kurama up off the ground inhuman strength. It once used to be a man, though as part of its cheek fell off and splattered wetly on the floor, it was hard to tell.   
  
Hungrily, it leaned closer, its drool slicked teeth coming nearer and nearer to Kurama's face. Drawing one fist back, he punched it as hard as he could in the face, trying his best not to vomit as blood and fluid gushed all over his hand. A sticky corpse was all that remained, the head completely gone from its body. Staggering away, Kurama took several deep breathes, trying to force down the wave of nausea that had filled up his stomach. This ..is not right . He could not tell what was worse. Being stuck out here alone, or having to slaughter things that once used to be people.   
  
- - -  
  
Hiei felt a shiver run up his spine as he walked silently down the cracked and abandoned sidewalk. Whether from the cold -or something else- he didn't know. He doubted it was the cold. He was a fire demon. He stared through his midnight-shot locks that had fallen into his face, searching for....anyone - anything.   
  
As much as he hated the humans, he felt a stab of pain at seeing the destruction and abandon that decorated the city. But he wasn't here to pity and remorse. He was here to find Kurama. This was his town....  
  
Gathering himself, he bolted off the ground to the top of a crumbling building. As the wind blew his hair carelessly around his head, he opened his Jagan eye. "Where are you fox..."   
  
Hiei suddenly froze - his senses instantly tuning to their maximum ability. There it was. The briefest glimpse of Kurama's energy signal. Following his Jagan eye and his natural instincts, he sped off towards the source.   
  
He stopped, landing on the sidewalk, seeing the familiar red-head. He glanced down at the rotted corpse and he shuddered in repulsion. It was sickening to think that had once been human. And it was even more bizarre to think of Kurama killing a human with his hands. But then again - it USED to be a human, now that putrid design of rotted flesh didn't deserve the title - as low as the human title was.  
  
After a moment that seemed to last forever, he glanced up at Kurama, looking at his face, but not meeting his eye.   
  
Kurama did not notice Hiei whatsoever, for his was occupied with .well, throwing up. He had just killed someone. When he was finally able to stop heaving, he slowly straightened up, trembling violently. His face was flushed and sweaty. Suddenly, he seemed to see Hiei, as though he hadn't been there before. His green eyes grew wide, and for a moment, he could only stare in disbelief.   
  
Two scarlet orbs softened for a moment - unusual compared to their normal fierce and stricken look. "Kurama?" Hiei asked, his voice cracked from not using it for the past month. He opened his mouth, meaning to say something else, but he ended up shutting it again, unable to find words to express his emotion. HE didn't even know what is was. Joy? Disgust? Fear? All three, he decided.  
  
"Hiei!" He could not keep the joy out of his tone. Without warning, he quickly moved towards the much shorter demon, hugging him profusely. He had been worried sick, afraid he would never see his friend again. After all, he would never see his family again either.  
  
He was convinced he could have stopped it, as well. But no, he had stood and watched, watched in horror as his family was torn to shreds before his very eyes. Embarrassed, Kurama released Hiei, turning around and walking to the edge of the roof. He determinedly stared at the ground below, not facing his old friend.   
  
Hiei felt a twinge in the pit of his stomach and he felt the corners of his mouth turn upward. What was this urge?  
  
He froze. Hell no. It was the urge to laugh at Kurama's embarrassed actions. He forced it down however and walked up to Kurama, placing a hand on his shoulder. He smirked. "Fox," he grunted, unable to hide the relief in his eyes. At least he still had one friend...   
  
Kurama jumped at his touch, so unused to being near another person for so long. He shot Hiei a quick glance, flushing quietly. "I.....I apologize...." His normally smooth, rich voice sounded strained, tired. As though he had seen horrors that not even the cursed should see. He turned to face Hiei, not quite being able to contain the relief that flooded his face. "You're ..still here " Rather bland, and not too intelligent sounding, but for one who felt so unstable as Kurama, it was better than nothing.   
  
"You ..haven't been ..infected?" Kurama's voice was barely a whisper, as though he would give up anything than have his last friend ripped away from him by the horrors that lurked within the streets. Desperately, he searched Hiei's eyes, praying that he was still fine.   
  
Hiei growled and folded his arms across his chest, giving Kurama a scowl. "Me? Get infected?" He rolled his eyes, clearly offended.   
  
But unexpectedly, he then sighed, resigned. "Thankfully," he swallowed, not only the dry taste in his mouth, but his pride. "No." He eyed Kurama critically. "And you?"   
  
Kurama shook his head, although his school outfit was ripped in many places. Not just normal rips. Rips that looked like....giant claws. "I am not meaning to doubt your ability. I would just like to know whether or not I need to decapitate you the next time you make some meaningless noise." The Kitsune shot him a weak grin. "Then again, you do that all the time, so I suppose I need not worry." Suddenly, a massive tongue shot out of the window behind him, wrapping around the Kitsune's waist, pinning his arms and dragging him inside, oblivious to the glass.   
  
Kurama yelled in surprise, stopping dead as he saw what held him captive. It looked like ..well, basically a man who had been turned inside-out. It's blood red muscles pumped while veins covered its surface. The tongue was attached to a mouth full of serrated teeth. The brain was visible on its skull, grey and dead looking. Oddly, there was no odor. Kurama's eyes trailed down to its four legs, noting the powerful claws on each leg. The creature screamed its triumph, bringing the Kitsune closer and closer.  
  
Hiei's eyes flew wide in surprise and he instantly unsheathed his katana and launched into the air, all in one lithe motion. Raising the silver blade above his head, he narrowed his eyes, focusing on his target. The sun caught the blade, making it shine and gleam for one brief moment of stillness, before it came crashing through the tongue. Hiei wasted no time removing Kurama from the now lifeless lingua. "Baka!" the fire demon hissed. His voice was shaking with fury. "You were an open target, dammit." Hiei opened his mouth, about to say more, but stopped, grabbing him roughly around the waist. Barely giving Kurama time to catch his breath, Hiei hurled him across the sidewalk. Right into a few bags of trash, as a matter of fact.   
  
Kurama had about three seconds to register he was free, before landing soundly on his head. There was a loud thud and spirals of cracks formed a web around him. He had just enough time to sit up and clutch at his head when he was snatched and thrown, right into a pile of garbage. Unfortunately, he struck his wounded head on the alley wall as this little maneuver was taking place, knocking him out soundly. Crimson blood blended in with his hair, but all the while making it warm and sticky. Nearby zombies moaned happily at his sudden appearance, staggering over to the unconscious Kitsune.  
  
Hiei turned to the hissing corpse, shattering the rest of the window with a swift kick of his foot. His katana sliced the creature to shreds. Dark blood splattered across his face. The creature screamed over and over, waggling the stump of its tail at the demon. The next second, it registered it was being gutted badly. With a loud, high-pitched, ear-blasting whine, it split in half, blood splattering everywhere. A horrid odor rose from the already dead beast, an eye-watering smell. In less than a second, the battle was over.  
  
Hiei staggered at the unbearable smell. It threatened to overwhelm him, and all together eliminate his senses, but he caught a glimpse of the spot where he had thrown Kurama. He cursed at his, and Kurama's, stupidity, and jumped out the window - immediately glad he was free of the rancid stench.  
  
He growled at the approaching zombies and raised his sword, his youkai flames licking at their feet. They hissed as it started to burn their.....um, flesh - but continued towards their prey, some choosing fire demon over the unconscious fox demon. Their ignorance only fueled Hiei's anger and in less then three seconds, he had shredded them - the same smell fogging his mind.   
  
He bent down near Kurama. He had to get him out of here, if more infected humans came, he wouldn't be able to hold them off and guarantee Kurama's safety. In one swift motion, he lifted the limp form of the red-head in his arms and leapt onto a nearby building. Using his ungodly speed, he flew through the deserted town, searching for a safe place to rest.  
  
Kurama began to thrash, his face pale and sweat dripping from his forehead. Well, truthfully, it was sweat and blood. He was moaning, mimicking the zombies down below. His eyes flew open, yet they were glazed and too bright. "M-Mother ..Mother!" He began to scream, long, tortured anguished screams that filled the entire city. Eventually, the screams subsided, but Kurama still thrashed, his movements frenzied, yet sluggish.  
  
Tears began to roll down his now sunken cheeks, hot tears of anger and sorrow. His eyes were still glazed, as though he was not really awake, but then, how could he weep? Awake or no, the tears still fell, yet the Kitsune was silent, slowly drowning in his own grief and betrayal.  
  
Hiei almost lost his grip holding the fox demon, but he was determined not to let go. If just to get to a safe place, where he could at least rest his arms - or was it his heart that felt so heavy? He would never admit such thoughts, but it pained him to see Kurama in such turmoil. He, of course, didn't know the source, but if someone was causing the fox pain - they would pay by his hands. If he lost Kurama, this plague will have gotten the better hold of his sanity.  
  
Finally, they came to a deserted park. Well, deserted until the zombies caught whiff of their scent. Being as gentle as he could, he set Kurama underneath a tree. He knew he should find something to treat his wounds, but he didn't want to leave him unattended. He growled impatiently. There wasn't time for such decisions!  
  
Kurama moaned again, barely feeling the tree beneath his back. His eyes began to flicker slowly, returning to life, then glazing once more. His form was trembling still, but slowly beginning to slow. "H-Hiei " Suddenly, he bolted upright, one name on his lips. "Hiei!" He screamed, his voice like a whip in the silence. Gazing about wildly, panic clear on his face, the Kitsune slumped upon seeing the fire demon, safe and unharmed.  
  
Slowly, he brought his knees to his chest, burying his face within them. His body shook again, though this time, with silent sobs. "I couldn't save them Hiei .I only watched then ran ..I ran ..and allowed them to be destroyed " He fell silent, muffled sobs flowing out of the broken-hearted fox.  
  
At first Hiei knelt to wake him from his pity-filled atmosphere, but then he hesitated and withdrew his hands. Kurama's heartbeat was slow and even, his breath so quiet . . . he looked sad, and far younger than his sixteen human years. There was something inexpressibly lonely about this red-haired boy. Hiei felt a rush of sympathy, watching him lie curled in sleep. "Please stop it," he croaked, before abruptly frowning to himself at his weak words. When Kurama glanced up at him, he quickly averted his gaze. "Stop it," he repeated, his usual sharp tone back.  
  
This was no time to wallow in self-pity.

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_Samurai Jones - Well there is the intro. If you want any pairings, please say which ones. The rest of the characters (which ones are yet to be revealed ) will show up later. Muhahaha, this story is in your hands! Meh. . . . not really, but we'll give you the option of deciding the pairings.  
  
Once again, half of this story is written by Tsunake. n.n;; _


End file.
